A shopper at a Cub Foods grocery store in Burnsville, Minn. (AP/Jayme Halbritter)

A sampling of grocery store meat in five U.S. cities has shown a type of drug-resistant bacteria is contained in about one quarter of beef, chicken, pork and turkey for sale, a study said Friday.

Staphylococcus aureus, a bacteria that can cause skin infections, pneumonia, sepsis or endocarditis in people with weak hearts, was found in 47 percent of samples, said the study in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases. Get the full story »

A shopper outside of a Jewel-Osco at 370 N. Desplaines in Chicago. (Chicago Tribune photo by Antonio Perez)

Stock for SuperValu Inc., the Minneapolis-based grocery giant that owns Jewel-Osco, soared 20 percent Thursday when the company’s full-year income fell less than expected — despite poor performance in the Chicago and Northeast markets.

The company was able to stem its drop in gross margins, helped by better timing of special offers and more financial backing for deals from vendors. Get the full story »

Chicago’s iconic Garrett Popcorn is giving away free snack-sized bags of its CaramelCrisp from 11 a.m, until 2 p.m. at all of its stores today, in a promotion celebrating National Caramel Popcorn Day.

Garrett’s will donate $1 to Save the Children’s Japan Earthquake Tsunami Children in Emergency Fund. Through the end of today, Garrett is also donating $2 from every popcorn tin sold to Save the Children.

Analysts have been speculating for years that Procter & Gamble might shed Pringles, as the world’s biggest consumer products maker had indicated in the past that the food business didn’t fit in with the rest of its portfolio. Get the full story »

Private equity-backed Dunkin’ Brands Inc. is considering an initial public offering of about $500 million in the second half of 2011, sources familiar with the situation said.

The IPO could be as large as $750 million, one of the sources said. Two or the sources said that there is disagreement among the sponsors over the company’s valuation. All of the sources said the discussions are preliminary and could change. Get the full story »

The maker of Laughing Cow cheese wedges, Bel Brands USA, is moving its corporate headquarters to downtown Chicago later this month from Elk Grove Village. About 80 workers will make the move to 30 S. Wacker Drive, where Bel Brands is leasing 27,000 square feet. Get the full story »

Starbucks Corp. coffee on a shelf at a grocery store in New York. (Michael Nagle/Bloomberg)

Starbucks Corp. wants to make sales of its coffee and other products in the grocery aisle rival its traditional cafe business, according to Chief Executive Howard Schultz.

The world’s biggest coffee chain is betting it can use the power of its brand to sell a portfolio of goods — such as Via instant coffee and bottled Frappuccino — everywhere food and beverages are sold, whether in a supermarket in the United States or a vending machine in Asia. Get the full story »

From Chicago Real Estate Daily | Gourmet grocery store Fox & Obel could face eviction from its Streeterville location after falling more than four months behind on rent. The receiver for the former North Pier Terminal filed a petition in Cook County Circuit Court on Jan. 26 seeking possession of the nearly 22,600-square-foot space occupied by Fox & Obel, alleging the grocer had missed rent payments totaling about $330,600. Get the full story>>

Nestle AG , the world’s biggest foodmaker, expects to raise prices by 1.6 percent in 2011, the company chairman said Tuesday, similar to last year’s increase despite soaring raw material costs.

Peter Brabeck-Letmathe told Reuters Insider that the company, which makes Nescafe coffee and Gerber baby food, would spend an extra $3.5 billion on raw materials in 2011, with more than half of that would be absorbed internally. Get the full story »

General Mills said Friday that it has entered into exclusive negotiations to buy a majority stake in French yogurt company Yoplait. General Mills, based in Minneapolis, has licensed the Yoplait brand since 1977, and is Yoplait’s largest licensee. Get the full story »

More than 10,000 pounds of Lean Cuisine frozen spaghetti and meatball dishes have been recalled because of the possible presence of foreign materials, the Department of Agriculture said late on Monday.